Top cylinder vapor lubricator



Oct. 25, 1955 D. M. HARVEY 2,721,545

TOP CYLINDER VAPOR LUBRICATOR Filed June 9, 1949 2 SheetsShee: l

Q2 I l r 77] INVENTOR.

I BY

Oct. 25, 1955 D. M. HARVEY TOP CYLINDER VAPOR LUBRICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed June 9. 1949 IN VEN TOR.

fad Jarfiarzzgy \M. I W a w 7 W W 6 5 7 5 7 W g v? k w I 4 5 UnitedStates Patent 2,721,545 TOP CYLINDER VAPOR LUBRICATOR Draper M. Harvey,Hingham, Mass., assignor to Automotive & Marine Products Corp., acorporation of Massachusetts Application June 9, 1949, Serial No. 98,009

7 Claims. (Cl. 123-196) The present invention relates to the automotiveengine art, and has particularre'ference to the controlled delivery oftreatment fluids to the combustion chamber and the upper cylinder partsof an internal combustion engine.

The principalobjectof the invention is to provide a novel arrangementfor delivering a controlled volume of liquid to the combustion chamberand the upper cylinder parts in the form of a finely dispersed vapor.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for creatingan atomized vapor and distributing the created vapor to an automaticfeed line under differential pressure.

V 'A furtherobject ofthe invention is toprovide a system for introducingfinely dispersed lubricating liquids into the upper cylinder section ofan internal combustion engine. 7 1

An additional object of the invention is to provide an auxiliaryapparatus. for an-internal combustion engine, to supply treatment fluidand particularlylubricating fluid to the primary fuel air charge in theform of a finely dispersed vapor whereby cylinder compression isimproved, compression pressures are equalized, and blow by of enginefuel and primary engine lubricating oils is reduced or eliminated.

Another object is-to supply upper cylinder lubrication to the uppercombustion chamber, the cylinder components and the related. runningparts within and surrounding the combustion chamber, before ignition isdeveloped within the engine.

A further object is to supply treatment fluid to the fuel-air charge inthe form of a completely dispersed vapor, for cooling the fuel-aircharge, reducing its detonation characteristics, and increasing thermalefliciency by-reducing engine operating temperatures.

Another object of the invention is to supply an internal combustionengine with a-finely dispersed treatment vapor for preventing theformation of combustion deposits on the engine parts, and controllingand reducing formed combustion deposits, whereby the volumetricefiiciency of the engine is increased and the proper distribution of thefuel-air mixture to the engine is facilitated. I 7

An additional object is to introduce and uniformly distribute alubricantto the operating parts of an engine to thoroughly lubricate andclear the cylinder walls, pistons, piston rings, intake valves, exhaustvalves and valve guides, whereby failure and wear of the mechanicalparts are reduced. p

A further object of the'invention is to provide an arrangement forintroducing a finely dispersed vapor of lubricating oil and othersuitable treatment fluids to the 2,721,545 Patented Oct. 25, 1955 heatsection of an engine with a lubricant particularly designed to meet theheat conditions therein.

A further object is to provide an effective top cylinder lubrication forthe intake and exhaust valves and the upper cylinder walls and upperpiston rings, whereby loss of power and efficiency resulting from gum,carbon and other combustion deposits, and engine varnish are eliminated.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, theinvention consists of a novel method of operation and a novelarrangement of parts more fully disclosed in the detailed descriptionfollowing, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and morespecifically defined in the claims appended thereto.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the novel top lubrication parts; I

Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through the oil container and theclosure top;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of the oil feed needle valve assembly;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional detail of a modified air intake;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional detail of the outlet connection from theclosure top;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail section of the delivery connection to theintake manifold, and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an illustrative bracket plate ring.

It has been found that the upper cylinder sections of internalcombustion engines are subjected to operating conditions which affectthermal and volumetric efiiciency, and which create special lubricatingdifficulties for the moving parts, resulting in wear, loss ofcompression, baking and varnishing of combustion residues and formationof gum, as the upper cylinder parts require active and adequatelubrication before the primary engine lubricants can be agitated ordirected under pressure to these parts from the crank case or throughthe oil pressure system of the engine.

Further, it has been found that engine operation can be improved bysupplying treatment fluids in proper form to the upper cylinder parts,and if desired, by aiding primary ignition by adding a combustible vaporto the primary air-fuel mixture.

To this end, I have determined that it is feasible to supply treatmentfluid, such as combustible vapors, special additives to increase fueloctane rating, and upper cylinder lubricant, to the combustion chamberand its operating parts in the form of a finely dispersed spray orvapor, the finely dispersed spray or vapor being preferably thoroughlyand uniformly mixed into and with the fuel-air stream.

I have therefore devised a simple and elfective arrangement for mixingthe treatment fluid with carrier air, vaporizing the fluid anddispersing and entraining the vapor into the carrier air, and conveyingthe carrier air and the entrained vapor to thoroughly mix with and intothe intake fuel-air stream regardless of the pressure difierentialbetween the carrier air supply and the intake stream, and regardless ofthe rate of intake, which may be sustained, accelerated or decelerated.When the treatment fluid contains solids, it is essential that thedispersion persist with a minimum of precipitation or separation of thesolid elements, whereby it is desirable to provide means forrevaporizing and redispersing the fluid before mixing into and with thefuel-air stream.

Although any of the standard types of treatment fluids and additives maybe vaporized, dispersed and supplied to the upper combustion section,the principal requirement for effective operating efficiency is topcylinder lubrication. Although the description following is specific tothe supplying to top cylinder lubricant, it is to be understood that anysuitable treatment fluid may be used instead of or with the lubricatingoil as hereinafter described, for feeding to the upper cylinder sectionsin finely dispersed vapor form.

1 have devised an arrangement which supplies fluid to the upper heatsections of the engines in the form of a finely dispersed vapor, wherebyall the upper operating parts are continually treated with fluid of thedesired characteristics without introduction of rust, scale, and otherimpurities such as are conveyed into the cylinders when fluid such astop cylinder oil is added to the gas tank.

I have found that it is not suflicient for complete lubria cation todraw a mixture of air and oil into the intake manifold, and that it isessential to introduce the oil in the form of a finely comminuted vaporor fog which is disseminated throughout the valve chambers and the upperheat section of the engine. I have therefore provided an initialentraining of top cylinder oil in carrier air, and have then dispersedand vaporized the entrained oil and maintained the vaporized oil infinely dispersed condition, and have uniformly entrained the vaporizedoil and its carrier air into the intake mixture for the engine.

I have found that the introduction of a fine oil vapor in this mannerresults in a cool, quiet, smooth-running motor with faster pick-up,increased power, and greater Operating efliciency, and with longeroperation life, as gumming, accumulation of combustion residues, andvalve warping and seat-failure are eliminated.

The mixing mechanism Referring to the drawings, which illustrate apreferred embodiment for supplying lubricating oil, the top lubricatorincludes an oil container 11, preferably made of glass or othertransparent material, having a reduced threaded neck 12. A closure top13 is provided with a depending threaded flange 14 for sealing mountingon the container neck, and is preferably made of metal, although plasticmay be used if desired.

Venting air is admitted to the container through an upstanding boss 15on the closure top, the boss having a central threaded opening 16 forreceiving a correspondingly threaded air inlet cap 17, which ispreferably of metal and which includes a lower threaded portion 18 forsecuring in the opening 16 and an enlarged head portion 19 which isadapted to seat on the boss 15, a packing washer 29 being preferablyinterposed. The cap 17 has a central air passageway 21, and an enlargedupper recess 22 is provided to receive a metal shell 23 which isequipped with a foraminated air filter or screen 24.

If desired, the air inlet cap may be made in the form of a cap 25, seeFig. 6, for receiving the lower cylindrical portion 26 of an upstandingfunnel shaped metal shell 27, the portion 26 being locked in the centralbore 28 of the cap and the outer conical portion 29 of the shellextending laterally and having an air filter or screen 30. This form ofair inlet cap is desirable in installations where dust or dirt laden airis prevalent, as the shell may be mounted to extend the inlet to theside or rear; or the shell may be turned to position the inlet forwardlywhen increased pressure of carrier air is desired.

The air inlet cap permits a free and unrestricted entry of filteredatmospheric air to the interior of the container as the oil leveltherein lowers during engine operation, whereby a constant atmosphericpressure is maintained on the oil in the container.

The closure top is designed to permit flow of oil from the container andof entraining air, by suction from the engine intake manifold. Theclosure top is provided with an upstanding housing 31 for this purpose,the housing being of Y shape, one leg 32 of the housing being utilizedto convey carrier air to a mixing passage, and the other leg 33including mechanism for withdrawal of oil from the container and forregulated delivery of the withdrawn oil to the mixing passage.

The leg 32 has an air inlet bore 34 which comprises a cylindrical outerportion 35, a tapered central portion 36, and a narrow air flow channel37 which communicates with a central longitudinal mixture channel 38,the axis of the air inlet bore being at an angle of approximatelyforty-five degrees to the channel 38. The cylindrical outer portionhouses a funnel shaped shell 39 which has an enlarged outer portion 40equipped with an air filter or screen 41.

The leg 33 has an oil passage 42 with a cylindrical outer portion 43 anda conical inner portion 44 which communicates with the mixture channel38, the axis of the passage 42 being at an angle of approximatelyfortyfive degrees to the channel 38. A plug 45 is seated in the portion44 and has a square threaded central bore 46 for receiving a similarlythreaded enlarged portion 47 of a valve stem 48, the valve stem 48 beingprovided with a manually adjustable knurled head 49 which has a screwslot 50; a spring 51 is seated on the valve stem between the head 49 andthe outer end of the leg 33 to provide a resilient tension on the valvestem for maintaining its initial setting.

As more clearly shown in Fig. 3, the inner end 52 of the valve stem hasa conical recess the sides of which are spun over a terminal ball 53 ofan elongated needle valve 54 to provide a universal connection; thevalve 54 is formed with a central cylindrical portion 55, a rear taperedend 56 which terminates in the ball end 53, and a forward tapered end 57which is shaped to correspond to the conical inner portion 44 of thebore 42 for obtaining a regulated oil flow into the channel 38.

The needle valve is self-aligning and self-seating due to the universalconnection and is free to turn, whereby it breaks up any formation of anoil seal with high viscosity oils and prevents accumulation of graphiteand other solids from the oil, as well as deposits of gas loaders andadditive materials. The conical recess seat for the valve ball endpermits a slight play in response to vacuum and pressure changes, tokeep the valve seat clear.

Oil from the container 11 is drawn into the closure top through avertical tube 58 which is threaded into a vertical threaded recess 59 inthe leg 33, a reduced vertical passage 60 leading from the recess 59 tothe conical inner portion 44 of the bore 42. The tube 58 depends intothe container and is provided with a conical inlet fitting 61 which hasan oil screen or filter disk 62 at its lower end, the tube being of alength to bring the oil screen disk 62 in spaced adjacency to the bottomwall of the container 11.

It is thus clear that suction induced by the engine intake creates a lowpressure in the mixture channel of the closure top to draw in screenedair and a regulated flow of oil from the container, to mix in themixture channel. However, it has been determined that drawing a mixtureof entrained oil drops and carrier air into the intake manifold does notcreate an effective top cylinder lubrication, and instead may createdifficulties by leaving residues which clog the intake manifold.Further, the addition of oil drops to the intake manifold reducesstarting effectiveness in cold weather by forming condensation foci.

It has therefore been found necessary to vaporize the entrained oildrops and to disperse the vaporized oil evenly throughout the carrierair.

The vapor forming mechanism The air supplied through the air intakepassage 34 and the regulated flow of oil through the valve controlledoil channel 42 which enter the mixture channel 38 are thereforeled intoa vaporizer 63 which vaporizes and disperses the oil in the carrier air.7

The vaporizer 63 includes a block 64, preferably of cylindrical form andmade of transparent plastic, which has a cylindrical bore 65 at itsforward end, the bore tapering sharply to provide a shallow conicalchamber 66 with an axial flow passage 67 which leads to an enlarged bore68 forming a chamber in which a whirl device 69 is secured. An auxiliaryblock-70, also preferably cylindrical, has a rear reduced plug end whichseats in the bore 65, and an axial passage 71 whichleads from a cupshaped chamber 72, the two blocks being assembled to seat in an annularrecess 73 in thebase 74 of the Y-shaped housing and in a suitablebearing 75 on the closure top, with the passages 38, 71 and 67 inaligned relation. The whirl device 69 is preferably of metal, in theform of a cylinder with spiral surface vanes 76.

The carrier air with its entrained drops of oil flows from the enlargedcup-shaped chamber 72 and through the axial passage 71 into thelaterally extending shallow conical chamber 66 and through the axialflow passage 67 into the enlarged bore 68 in which the whirl device 69is secured.

When the carrier air and its entrained oil enter the whirl device 69 themixture has a high speed centrifugal whirl imparted to it which breaksthe oil into a fine vapor, mist or fog. If the flow connection to theintake manifold is short, the air-vapor mixture may be drawn directlyinto the manifold; if the flow connection is of long length, it may beadvisable in some cases to apply heat to the connection to maintain thevapor condition, but it is preferred to so construct the deliverymechanism that the oil is again subjected to a centrifugal whirl, inorder to revaporize any oil drops or condensation.

The delivery connection The air-vapor mixture from the whirl deviceflows through a fitting 77 mounted in the bearing 75 and through aconduit 78 such as flexible tubing which is locked to the fitting 77 bya threaded lock nut 79, to a delivery connection 80, see Fig. 9.

The delivery connection 80 includes a union or fitting 81 to which theother end of the conduit 78 is connected, as by a threaded bushing 82.The air-vapor mixture passes into a housing 83 forming part of a bracketplate ring 84, the ring 84 being locked between intake manifoldsections, and the housing 83 having a central bore 85 in which acylindrical Whirl device 86 is secured, the whirl device being a plugprovided with a helical groove 87 so that the incoming air-vapor mixtureagain has a high speed centrifugal whirl imparted to it to revaporizeand redisperse the oil in the carrier air. The air-vapor mixture exitingfrom the whirl device 86 is drawn into the intake manifold through astream-line high speed nozzle recess 88, see Fig. 8, to spreadtransversely across the intake manifold for entraining uniformly withthe intake gas and air stream. If desired, several nozzle recesses maybe utilized to provide a more even dispersion and a more thorough mixingwith the intake gas and air.

It is thus clear that the improved treatment fluid supply systemincludes an initial mixing of carrier air and regulated entrained fluid,a more thorough mixing in a surge chamber, a regulated flow of fluidmixture to a vaporizer in which the fluid is vaporized and disperseduniformly throughout the carrier air stream, and a conducting of theair-vapor mixture to an intake manifold, preferably through a deliveryconnection which revaporizes and redisperses the fluid in the carrierair and then projects the air-vapor mixture into the intake manifoldacross the stream of intake gas and air.

The term vapor is used in a broad sense, to denote a fine dispersion offluid in the form of a vapor, spray or mist, and the term fluid broadlyincludes lubricating and treatment liquids such as carrier oils, with orwithout additives such as ethyl fluid, gum inhibitors, fixed oils,

animal fats and other treatment fluids and treatment solids, includingemulsions, water and water solutions such as water-alcohol solutions,and the like. The term lubricator broadly describes an auxiliaryapparatus, which however may be permanently installed, for supplyingtreatment fluid in the form of a vapor to an automotive engine.

The top lubricator which is specifically described herein isparticularly designed for engines which operate with an intake manifoldthat is sub-atmospheric or is pressurized by partial supercharging ofthe intake air, but the invention may be readily adapted to other typesof engines in which a controlled pressure differential is maintainedbetween the lubricatorand the intake manifold.

Although I have described a specific constructional embodiment of myinvention, it is obvious that changes in the size, shape and arrangementof the parts and in their relative operation may be made to meetrequirements for different automotive engine installations, withoutdeparting from the spirit and the scope of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. A lubricator for an automotive engine, having a container forlubricating fluid, a closure top on said container, an air inlet in saidclosure top communicating with the container, a Y-shaped housing on saidclosure top, a mixture channel in the stem of the Y-shaped housing, anair intake passage in one leg of the housing communicating with themixture channel, a fluid inflow passage in the other leg of the housinghaving a connection for receiving fluid from the container andcommunicating with the mixture channel, said fluid inflow passage havinga regulatable flow control valve, means on said closure top providing avaporizer chamber receiving fluid-air mixture from the mixture channel,a whirl device in the vaporizer chamber having peripheral vanes forwhirling the received fluid-air mixture, and an outflow conduit forreceiving vaporized fluid-air mixture from the vaporizer.

2. In combination with the structure of claim 1, a mixture deliveryfitting for the outflow conduit having a chamber, a Whirl device thereinwith peripheral helical groove means, and a converging outflow nozzle.

3. In combination with the structure of claim 1, a bracket plateinjection device having an inflow housing for receiving a fluid-airmixture, a central bore in said housing, and means for revaporizing andredispersing the mixture comprising a cylindrical whirl device plug insaid bore having peripheral helical groove flow means, and an outflownozzle recess having converging walls.

4. A lubricator for an automotive engine having a container forlubricating fluid, a closure top on said container, an air inlet in saidclosure top communicating with the container, a mixture channel in saidclosure top, an air intake passage communicating with the mixturechannel, a fluid inflow passage having a connection for receiving fluidfrom the container and communicating with the mixture channel, saidfluid inflow passage having a regulatable flow control valve, means onsaid closure top providing a vaporizer chamber, a passage communicatingthe mixture channel with the vaporizer chamber, a surge chamber in saidpassage, a whirl device in said vaporizer chamber, and an outflowconduit for receiving vaporized fluid-air mixture from the vaporizerchamber.

5. In the structure of claim 4, said passage communicating the mixturechannel with the vaporizer chamber also having a shallow conicalenlargement.

6. In combination with the structure of claim 4, a mixture deliveryfitting for the outflow conduit having a chamber, a whirl device in saidchamber with peripheral helical groove means, and a converging outflownozzle.

7. In combination with the structure of claim 4, a bracket plateinjection device having an inflow housing for receiving a fluid-airmixture, a central bore in said housing, and means for revaporizing andredispersing the mixture comprising a cylindrical whirl device plug insaid bore having peripheral helical groove flow means, and an outflownozzle recess having converging walls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS SrnithJuly 16, 1907 Stilz July 1, 1913 Harris Sept. 2, 1919 Murphy Oct. 26,1920 Smith Oct. 28, 1924 Van Tuyl Jan. 5, 1932 Jackson July 4, 1933Schroder Dec. 4, 1934 Hiller Sept. 8, Carson May 11, Loughlin Mar. 29,Reid June 7, Rudnick May 23, Carpenter Jan. 23, Keller Oct. 14, MaclayDec. 28, Taber Feb. 13,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 27, France Aug. 29, France July 21,

